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Federal Court Temporarily Blocks Trump's Rollback of Obamacare Contraceptive Coverage

CBN

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A federal judge in Pennsylvania has temporarily blocked President Trump's effort to allow companies to opt out of Obamacare's provision that employers provide birth control to workers at no cost.  

The U.S. Eastern District Court issued the preliminary injunction Friday to halt the White House from enforcing its new rules. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has requested the injunction. 

In her 44-page ruling, Judge Wendy Beetlestone, an Obama appointee, said the rules contradicted the text of the Affordable Care Act by allowing many employers to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage if they had religious or moral objections.

Beetlestone said the state of Pennsylvania is "likely to suffer serious and irreparable harm" from the Trump administration's rules. Limited access to affordable birth control, she wrote, would lead to more unplanned pregnancies, which would also hurt the Keystone State's economy.

Many religious organizations protested Obamacare's birth control mandate, claiming it is an attack on their religious beliefs.

The mandate was challenged by the Hobby Lobby company in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.  In 2014, the U.S. Supreme court ruled 5-4 that the government cannot force certain for-profit companies to provide its employees birth control coverage if it goes against the employer's religious beliefs.

Beetlestone's ruling temporarily blocks Trump's rules from taking effect across the country. 

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